The misadventures of the necromancer

Chapter XXVIII

Seres watches Sorana flee from the giant spider pursuing her. This is their second attempt at hunting spiders since she joined them. The first attempt went like all the others the three had done alone, ending with Nero incinerating a group of spiders. However, he has to acknowledge that even then Sorana had proven to be very useful. Especially due to her skill with a sword. She had already managed to withstand more than one close attack from the spiders. Something Seres could not even dream of doing, and even Nero would find difficult.

Of course, she can't destroy them the way Nero does. That is why she's playing the role of bait. She went near the spider's nest to see if she could lure some spiders out. Due to all the destruction Nero has caused. The spiders have become more cautious about exiting the cave. If they sense one of them. After all, they may be animals, but they aren't stupid. Thus, Sorana was the only option to serve as bait this time. So far, things are going well, with at least four spiders chasing her.

Sorana approached the cave entrance that served as the nest for these spiders. When she sensed movement inside, she started running away. On one side of the entrance is a forest with large trees and a series of bushes covered in webs, creating an area that cannot be crossed. The other side has a hill, relatively bare of vegetation, where Nero is hidden behind some rocks. He will support Sorana in case she needs help or to close the trap from behind.

Seres, Adar, and the mule are hiding, behind some trees at the end of the path to the nest. The mule can't be too close. Because if the spiders get too near, they might realize it's un undead, and they won't come out. Even in the ensuing fight, they will only attack the mule if they are in numeric superiority. At least two spiders must be fighting the mule. In all previous cases where this happened, Nero intervened, destroying the spiders.

Seres and Adar are there just to provide support. Suposely they're responsible for giving potions to anyone in need. Fortunately, they still have some potions made by Nero, having had to spend three to trade for Nero's new coat and some supplies. And even that price was after much haggling by Adar. Before Sorana appeared, one of them would have had to be the bait.

“Wow.” Seres hears his friend say. When he sees what Adar is looking at, he can only say.

“Yeah.” After all, seeing such a beautiful woman like Sorana running towards them with her long hair flowing in the wind, what else can be said? The image would be much more stimulating if there weren't four spiders from the nest behind her, and they didn't have to worry about the risk of her tripping and falling.

But suddenly, everything changes when an intense light explodes behind Sorana. The light is a fireball launched by Nero, catching three of the spiders from behind. Only one spider escapes the sea of flames that appears out of nowhere, and even that spider is on fire and won't last long. Nothing surprising to Seres, as he has seen this exact scene several times by now.

Only the spider closest to Sorana escaped this fate. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting closer and closer to Sorana. He's not the only one who notices this, as Sorana decides to turn around, drawing the sword she has been holding, and prepares to fight the spider. He admires the woman's courage since the fight won't be easy, and being so close to the creature will make it almost impossible for Nero to help.

“She’s crazy. She should have kept running that way. At least she would be closer to the mule.” Says Adar, shaking his head at the woman's choice of action. As soon as his friend finishes speaking, the mentioned animal rushes toward the woman who will need its help. Sorana starts her fight with the fearsome spider jumping at her. Her agility allows her to dodge, letting the spider pass by her. He notices some movement of Sorana's sword, making him think she must have hit the spider in passing. The unfortunate part is that the giant spider is also quite agile and, landing on the ground, immediately jumps at Sorana again. With the short distance separating them, he sadly assumes Sorana won't have an escape.

But she is quicker and lets herself fall to the ground as the creature passes over her. Now, on the ground, she rolled to the side to gain some space.

“Damn!!! We are being really unlucky.” Mutters a frustrated Adar, pointing into the distance.

“What is it?” Seres asks, unable to see where his friend is pointing.

“More are coming.” Looking carefully at the nest entrance, Seres sees that his friend is right. Movements can be seen at the entrance, which can only mean that the spiders are sending reinforcements.

Sorana, meanwhile, has managed to stand up and is now launching herself at the spider, using her sword to gain space to maneuver. But the spider dodges the sword and hits Sorana with one of its legs, knocking the woman to the ground. Sorana still manages a broad attack that hits the creature. With her opponent on the ground, the spider tries to jump on Sorana again, but she rolls on the ground to avoid the attack. Unfortunately, the spider doesn't give up and keeps attacking, keeping the woman on the defensive.

To Seres's concern, it looks like Sorana has hit something, making it seem like the fight might end. Happily, this is the moment, the mule reaches her, charging the spider. The spider avoids the mule's first charge, allowing Sorana to stand up and start her own attack. Facing the mule and the woman simultaneously, the spider begins to retreat. Until the mule makes an effective charge at the spider, allowing Sorana to strike the spider, which falls, seemingly mortally wounded.

But at that moment, the arachnid reinforcements begin to reach Sorana and the mule. A new explosion erupts among them, followed by another, wiping out another wave of spiders. Now, Nero appears, descending the hill quickly towards Sorana.

“They are not giving up.” Shouts an agitated Adar, pointing to another wave of spiders, perhaps ten in total. Seres feels he should be scared seeing the large mass of spiders emerging, but this is not the first time this has happened, and the result of this tactic by the spiders has always ended the same way.

Partly, due to Nero's intelligence, who always chooses spots for these traps that force the spiders to concentrate at one point, but ultimately it is due to the ridiculous power of the fireballs he can launch. So, while Nero rushes forward, Seres doesn't feel too worried. Adar beside him seems much more anxious, constantly moving from one side of the tree behind which he is hiding to the other, and then doing the same on the other side of the tree.

When Nero finally reaches the spider's body lying on the ground, Sorana seems to have started taking cover behind its body. Nero, for his part, begins touching the creature's body. This isn't the best timing, but the powerful necromancer must be pleased they finally got an intact spider body. If they are lucky, it will have the eggs they have been seeking but have failed to obtain so far. But how were they to know that giant spiders burn so easily? In all their attempts so far. Whenever a fireball hit a spider, it would immediately start burning, until nothing was left.

As Seres recalls all their failed attempts. The spider begins to rise to the astonishment of Sorana. Even Seres is surprised, thinking the creature wasn't properly dead. But he quickly realizes that Nero has turned the creature into an undead. Something that is confirmed when it advances on the other spiders. Nero stretches out his hand, and another fireball shoots out towards the rear of the spiders. Where an explosion occurs destroying at least three more spiders. And seeming to block two others from continuing their charge.

This leaves five spiders to face the attack of the undead spider and the mule, which has joined it. The spiders would have the advantage, but the two undead are unconcerned while protecting each other. Allowing Sorana, who has also joined the charge, to make a fatal strike on another spider. Seeing this, Nero goes to that new body to raise it also.

“This is what he meant by using undead to hunt spiders.” Says Adar suddenly. Seres recalls that Nero had indeed said something like that when he heard about the spiders and their valuable eggs.

Now, it's three undead and a swordswoman against four spiders. As such, Seres hardly needs to watch the rest of the battle to determine the outcome. The two undead spiders attack another spider together while the mule distracts the remaining ones. Finally, Sorana stands back, waiting for an opportunity to finish off another spider. Usually, giant spiders should be formidable enemies, throwing themselves into battle without concern and acting almost suicidally. But in this instance, they face beings that truly do not fear death, as they have already lost their lives.

Thus, the spiders that had remained on the other side of the last explosion caused by Nero's fireball are already retreating back into the cave. When Sorana manages another kill, the two remaining live spiders attempt to retreat, proving to be a mistake as the two undead immediately attack them. With their legs, they knock down the spiders trying to flee, and with their mandibles, they bite them, finally ending the fight along with the lives of the two surviving spiders.

“Come on, let's go.” Instructs Adar while starting to run toward Nero and Sorana, who seem to be examining the bodies. They must have started looking for eggs in the fallen bodies. Seres quickly joins his friend in running, cheerfully. As he runs, Seres can't help but marvel at the battle he just witnessed. The victory was never in doubt, as by now, they all had a good sense of Nero's power, but finally recovering intact bodies was something Seres had to admit was only possible thanks to Sorana.

Every other time Nero had fought, everything had been resolved with the use of the fireball spell, never with the undead. So, Seres is thrilled to have seen how a necromancer truly fights.

When the two reach Sorana and Nero, they hear, "I found it!" Sorana shouts, jumping up from the body she was inspecting. In her hand is a round ball about the size of a chicken egg. She had recovered an egg—they had finally succeeded. Seres is so happy he starts jumping too.

"Finally!" Nero shouts in turn, also starting to jump with joy.

Turning to Adar’s joyous face, Seres realizes. This is the first time all of them are so happy. This had never happened before, which only added to his own joy.